Welcome to the official CQUniversity Student Blog – CQUniLife. This blog follows the experiences of a diverse group of CQUniversity students from different countries, studying various programs and at various campuses throughout Australia.

Random Musings of a Study Abroad Student. Part Five and The End

Class today was at the Imperial War Museum. I spent five hours there, staying until closing, but I probably could have used another couple of hours. Most of my time was spent in the Holocaust exhibit–it was both horrifying and fascinating at the same time. Will definitely be going back to see the parts I missed today.

Bath and Stonehenge

One day, two attractions. What to say about the Roman Baths? The water was a funny colour. I definitely would not have bathed in it. But in a complete contradiction, I did taste it (yes, it was filtered, but still). To be honest, it tasted a lot like it looked…gross. It probably would have been better to try the water before seeing it, and hearing about all of the people that swam and bathed in it thousands of years ago—that would be enough to put anyone off their food/drink. Although, I am hoping I still receive all of the health benefits attributed to drinking the water (even if I only managed a small sip before spitting it out). The chemical analysis of the water is pictured.

Stonehenge was one of those things that you think you just have to see when coming to the UK. The history is fascinating, and it is amazing to see what was done with the technology that was available thousands of years ago. But, beyond that, they are just a bunch of rocks on a really cold and windy hill. I walked quickly around the rope barricades that surround the structure, and then made a beeline for the next bus to return to the warmth of the tourist centre.

Warner Bros Harry Potter Studios

This is a must for any and all Harry Potter fans. The fact that an entire film studio was built from the ground up on the outskirts of London for the sole purpose of turning the book series into movies before the finals books had even been written is testimony to the popularity of the story. I could never get into the books. I swear I tried on more than one occasion. I’m not sure why, but I suspect it was because I found the writing style difficult. Despite this, I very much enjoyed the movies. Nearly everything that featured in the movies could be found in the studios, from wigs and costumes, to sets and props, pre-production sketches and models, and my favourite part, pieces of work from the design team (e.g. copies of The Daily Prophet). Also, I got to fly on a broom over London (thanks to the special effects department).

The business end…

I swear, despite much of this blog being about my time outside the classroom, I am still actually attending university. And right now, we are getting down to the business end of the semester, and like at CQUniversity, everything seems to be due on the same day. Aaarrrrggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!! And for that reason, this is where I am going to leave this blog, so I can instead focus on my essay, assignment, and exam preparation.